The present invention relates to interactive computer controlled display systems for adding components to computer operations which are particularly useful in the interactive management of communication networks.
The 1990""s decade has been marked by a technological revolution driven by the convergence of the data processing industry, the communications industry and the consumer electronics industry. This advance has been even further accelerated by the extensive consumer and business involvement in the Internet over the past few years. It seems as if virtually all aspects of human endeavor in the industrialized world will potentially involve human-computer interfaces; especially such interfaces to communication networks such as the Internet. As a result of these profound changes, there is a need to make computer directed activities accessible to a substantial portion of the world""s population which was computer-illiterate or, at best, computer indifferent. In order for the vast computer supported marketplaces to continue and be commercially productive, it will be necessary for a large segment of computer indifferent consumers, workers and business people to be involved in computer interfaces. In addition, because of the vast amount of information potentially available through networks such as the Internet, there has been an increasing demand on the part of relatively sophisticated users for implementations which make display terminal access to the Internet less cluttered and confusing and, of course, easier to use.
In addition, as the need for computer resources and power increases in most technological, business and entertainment fields, such-needs are being met by linked computers which share functions. Such linked computers may be arranged in Local Area Networks (LANs), more extensive Wide Area Networks (WANs) or involve the World Wide Web (Web) or Internet (Net). Whether such networks only involve a server computer with one or two local client computers or several extensive wide area networks linked through the Internet, they must present the user with clear and effective means for sharing and distributing the many and varied computer functions. This involves the accessing and integration of computing components which are outside of and thus non-native to the native or current computer operations whether these be in a native client computer relative to its non-native server computer or computer operations carried out in a LAN relative to a non-native WAN to which the LAN is linkable.
Current user interactive display systems for integrating outside or non-native computer components with current computer operations involve fairly complex display interfaces in which potentially integrable non-native or outside computer functions are presented to the user in a series of fixed or predetermined interactive menus which do not distinguish the non-native computer components from the current or native functions of the computer-operations being carried out. Thus, if a user wishes to access or integrate an outside computer component with respect to a particular element or object in the current or native computer operation, he must first find the representation of such an element on his display, and then bring the element or object into a screen panel containing the fixed menu from which the outside computer component may be selected for the particular element. In addition, before a non-native computing component may be selected for integration for a particular element in a computer operation, it is necessary that a predetermined attribute exist for that element so as to enable such a selection. It is often not very clear from the present fixed menu selection approach whether the selection of a particular computing component for a particular element has been enabled.
The present invention relates to accessing and adding computing components outside of and, consequently, non-native to a current computer operation through a new interactive interface which is more user friendly and better organized than the above-described interfaces. The present invention involves predetermining a plurality of computing components to be selectively added to the computer operation, and designating and displaying a plurality of system elements. The invention then provides means for predetermining at least one invocative attribute for each of said elements and means responsive to the occurrence of an invocative attribute for enabling said selective addition of an associated computing component to said operation. Means are provided for displaying a listing of the computing components enabled for the selective addition for each of the displayed elements, together with means for selecting at least one of the listed enabled computing components to thereby add its associated computing component.
The primary advantage of the invention is that a menu or listing of those computing components enabled for addition to the current or native ongoing computer operations by the occurrence of invocative attributes relative to the system elements is available for user interaction wherever the element is displayed instead of the prior art procedure of moving the element to the display panel or screen where a fixed menu may be found which will list the particular enabled computing component of interest along with components of the current or native computer operations.
The system elements, with respect to which the computing components are enabled, are usually associated with nodes in the computing system or they may be considered as the nodes themselves. However, in object oriented systems this approach may be used for the combination of objects in object oriented computer operations. In such a case, the elements would be the objects already incorporated into the existing or native system, and the computing components to be added or integrated would be other or non-native objects. Then the occurrence of invocative attributes relative to the native objects would enable the selective integration of a non-native object. Such non-native objects enabled for integration would be displayable in a listing for the native object with which they were integratable.
The computing components integrated or added may be application programs or access to databases or libraries.
The means for displaying the plurality of system elements could display in association with each element, the status of the invocative attributes for the respective element and the means for displaying the elements and invocative attribute status could be in the form of a displayed table.
The present invention is advantageously applicable to computer managed communication networks with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive display stations, and including a plurality of network elements, each respectively associated with one of a plurality of linked network nodes. In networks, the present invention provides a system for accessing computing components comprising means for predetermining a plurality of such computing components to be selectively accessed and means for displaying said plurality of network elements, such as nodes or elements at such nodes. Means are provided for predetermining at least one invocative attribute for each of said elements or nodes together with means responsive to the occurrence of an invocative attribute for enabling said selective accessing of an associated computing component. In the network system, there is also provided means for displaying a listing of said computing components enabled for said selective accessing for each of said displayed elements, and means for selecting at least one of said listed enabled computing components to thereby access said associated computing component.
The network involved may, of course, be the Internet or the Web. In such a case, one the computing components enabled for access could be a Web or Internet browser for linking to various stations on the Internet.
In summary, the present invention provides an interactive computer controlled display, a system for adding computing components to a computer operation comprising means for predetermining a plurality of computing components to be selectively added to said operation, means for predetermining an invocative attribute in the computer operation for enabling said selective addition of one of said plurality of computing components associated with said attribute to said operation, means for displaying a listing of said computing components enabled for said selective addition and means for selecting at least one of said listed enabled computing components to thereby add said associated computing component.